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Richard Bruton's brother backs government on economy

Et tu Bruton? Richard Bruton, Fine Gael's finance spokesman, has been stabbed in the back by his big brother - metaphorically speaking. John Bruton, the former Fine Gael taoiseach and EU ambassador to the US, has said the government is doing a good job in battling the economic crisis.

Speaking to The Sunday Times, Bruton described the budget presented by Brian Lenihan last December as "an important first step" towards bringing the country out of recession.

"I think most people would accept that the government has faced up to the [economic] problem in a very serious way," he said. "Unlike almost all the EU countries in crisis, we've ... made a serious effort to combat it. I think most people would agree, in relation to the budget, it was an important first step in terms of bringing our revenue back in line with our spending."